Bone health, cardiovascular disease, and imaging outcomes in UK Biobank: a causal analysis.

This study examined the association of estimated heel bone mineral density (eBMD, derived from quantitative ultrasound) with: (1) prevalent and incident cardiovascular diseases (CVDs: ischemic heart disease (IHD), myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure (HF), non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM), arrhythmia), (2) mortality (all-cause, CVD, IHD), and (3) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) measures of left ventricular and atrial structure and function and aortic distensibility, in the UK Biobank. Clinical outcomes were ascertained using health record linkage over 12.3 yr of prospective follow-up. Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) was conducted to assess causal associations between BMD and CMR metrics using genetic instrumental variables identified from published genome-wide association studies. The analysis included 485 257 participants (55% women, mean age 56.5 ± 8.1 yr). Higher heel eBMD was associated with lower odds of all prevalent CVDs considered. The greatest magnitude of effect was seen in association with HF and NICM, where 1-SD increase in eBMD was associated with 15% lower odds of HF and 16% lower odds of NICM. Association between eBMD and incident IHD and MI was non-significant; the strongest relationship was with incident HF (SHR: 0.90 [95% CI, 0.89-0.92]). Higher eBMD was associated with a decreased risk in all-cause, CVD, and IHD mortality, in the fully adjusted model. Higher eBMD was associated with greater aortic distensibility; associations with other CMR metrics were null. Higher heel eBMD is linked to reduced risk of a range of prevalent and incident CVD and mortality outcomes. Although observational analyses suggest associations between higher eBMD and greater aortic compliance, MR analysis did not support a causal relationship between genetically predicted BMD and CMR phenotypes. These findings support the notion that bone-cardiovascular associations reflect shared risk factors/mechanisms rather than direct causal pathways.

Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Reference Ranges From the Healthy Hearts Consortium.

BACKGROUND: The absence of population-stratified cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) reference ranges from large cohorts is a major shortcoming for clinical care. OBJECTIVES: This paper provides age-, sex-, and ethnicity-specific CMR reference ranges for atrial and ventricular metrics from the Healthy Hearts Consortium, an international collaborative comprising 9,088 CMR studies from verified healthy individuals, covering the complete adult age spectrum across both sexes, and with the highest ethnic diversity reported to date. METHODS: CMR studies were analyzed using certified software with batch processing capability (cvi42, version 5.14 prototype, Circle Cardiovascular Imaging) by 2 expert readers. Three segmentation methods (smooth, papillary, anatomic) were used to contour the endocardial and epicardial borders of the ventricles and atria from long- and short-axis cine series. Clinically established ventricular and atrial metrics were extracted and stratified by age, sex, and ethnicity. Variations by segmentation method, scanner vendor, and magnet strength were examined. Reference ranges are reported as 95% prediction intervals. RESULTS: The sample included 4,452 (49.0%) men and 4,636 (51.0%) women with average age of 61.1 ± 12.9 years (range: 18-83 years). Among these, 7,424 (81.7%) were from White, 510 (5.6%) South Asian, 478 (5.3%) mixed/other, 341 (3.7%) Black, and 335 (3.7%) Chinese ethnicities. Images were acquired using 1.5-T (n = 8,779; 96.6%) and 3.0-T (n = 309; 3.4%) scanners from Siemens (n = 8,299; 91.3%), Philips (n = 498; 5.5%), and GE (n = 291, 3.2%). CONCLUSIONS: This work represents a resource with healthy CMR-derived volumetric reference ranges ready for clinical implementation.

Pneumomediastinum in patients with COVID-19 undergoing CT pulmonary angiography: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Various complications have been reported in patients with COVID-19 including pneumomediastinum. METHODS: The primary objective of the study was to determine the incidence of pneumomediastinum in COVID-19 positive patients who underwent CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA). The secondary objectives were to analyse if the incidence of pneumomediastinum changed between March and May 2020 (peak of the first wave in the UK) and January 2021 (peak of the second wave in the UK) and to determine the mortality rate in patients with pneumomediastinum. We undertook an observational, retrospective, single-centre, cohort study of patients with COVID-19 admitted to Northwick Park Hospital. RESULTS: 74 patients in the first wave and 220 patients in the second wave met the study criteria. Two patients during the first wave and eleven patients during the second wave developed pneumomediastinum. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of pneumomediastinum changed from 2.7% during the first wave to 5% during the second wave and this change was not statistically significant (p value 0.4057). The difference in mortality rates of patients with pneumomediastinum in both waves of COVID-19 (69.23%) versus patients without pneumomediastinum in both waves of COVID-19 (25.62%) was statistically significant (p value 0.0005). Many patients with pneumomediastinum were ventilated, which could be a confounding factor. When controlling for ventilation, there was no statistically significant difference in the mortality rates of ventilated patients with pneumomediastinum (81.81%) versus ventilated patients without pneumomediastinum (59.30%) (p value 0.14).

Incident Clinical and Mortality Associations of Myocardial Native T1 in the UK Biobank.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac magnetic resonance native T1-mapping provides noninvasive, quantitative, and contrast-free myocardial characterization. However, its predictive value in population cohorts has not been studied. OBJECTIVES: The associations of native T1 with incident events were evaluated in 42,308 UK Biobank participants over 3.17 ± 1.53 years of prospective follow-up. METHODS: Native T1-mapping was performed in 1 midventricular short-axis slice using the Shortened Modified Look-Locker Inversion recovery technique (WIP780B) in 1.5-T scanners (Siemens Healthcare). Global myocardial T1 was calculated using an automated tool. Associations of T1 with: 1) prevalent risk factors (eg, diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol); 2) prevalent and incident diseases (eg, any cardiovascular disease [CVD], any brain disease, valvular heart disease, heart failure, nonischemic cardiomyopathies, cardiac arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation [AF], myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease [IHD], and stroke); and 3) mortality (eg, all-cause, CVD, and IHD) were examined. Results are reported as odds ratios (ORs) or HRs per SD increment of T1 value with 95% CIs and corrected P values, from logistic and Cox proportional hazards regression models. RESULTS: Higher myocardial T1 was associated with greater odds of a range of prevalent conditions (eg, any CVD, brain disease, heart failure, nonischemic cardiomyopathies, AF, stroke, and diabetes). The strongest relationships were with heart failure (OR: 1.41 [95% CI: 1.26-1.57]; P = 1.60 × 10-9) and nonischemic cardiomyopathies (OR: 1.40 [95% CI: 1.16-1.66]; P = 2.42 × 10-4). Native T1 was positively associated with incident AF (HR: 1.25 [95% CI: 1.10-1.43]; P = 9.19 × 10-4), incident heart failure (HR: 1.47 [95% CI: 1.31-1.65]; P = 4.79 × 10-11), all-cause mortality (HR: 1.24 [95% CI: 1.12-1.36]; P = 1.51 × 10-5), CVD mortality (HR: 1.40 [95% CI: 1.14-1.73]; P = 0.0014), and IHD mortality (HR: 1.36 [95% CI: 1.03-1.80]; P = 0.0310). CONCLUSIONS: This large population study demonstrates the utility of myocardial native T1-mapping for disease discrimination and outcome prediction.

A case report of myocarditis secondary to eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis.

Background: Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a rare form of anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis. Cardiac involvement is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in these patients. Early recognition and treatment initiation for such manifestations are key to improved patient outcomes. Case summary: We report the case of a 60-year-old man with a history of therapy-resistant asthma and rhinitis. He presented with acute chest pain, sinus tachycardia, and marked peripheral eosinophilia. Transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) showed segmental anterior left ventricular (LV) wall motion abnormalities with impaired systolic function (LV ejection fraction 45%) and a small pericardial effusion. Invasive coronary angiography revealed unobstructed coronary arteries. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the TTE findings and demonstrated oedema and active inflammation of the anterior and anteroseptal LV segments [Short inversion time recovery (STIR)-T2] and an unusual pattern of non-ischaemic late gadolinium enhancement extending across multiple coronary territories. Autoantibody testing detected a positive P-ANCA and myeloperoxidase (MPO) antibodies. Overall, the investigation findings supported a diagnosis of ANCA-positive EGPA with acute myocardial involvement. He was initially treated with high-dose corticosteroids, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab. The patient had a good symptomatic and biochemical (normalized troponin T and MPO titre) recovery. In addition, subsequent TTE showed improvement of LV systolic function and resolution of regional wall motion abnormalities. Discussion: In this case, prompt diagnosis facilitated early initiation of immunosuppressive therapy and disease remission. CMR provides non-invasive assessment of myocardial tissue characterization and, used in conjunction with other tools, can be instrumental in detecting myocardial involvement in EGPA.

Squamous cell carcinoma at the site of ileo-anal pouch in Crohn's disease.

Few cases of pouch-related cancers have been reported in inflammatory bowel disease, and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is very rare. We have reviewed the published literature searching the online databases PubMed and Medline. Since 1979, there have been eight cases of SCC developing after restorative proctocolectomy in ulcerative colitis. To date, there have been no reported cases of SCC of the ileo-anal pouch in Crohn's disease. We present the case of a 59-year-old woman who underwent colectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis for Crohn's disease during the 1990s. The patient was noted to be anaemic and was experiencing significant weight loss with poor pouch function in 2019. Endoscopy with histology and radiological investigation revealed the presence of SCC of the pouch. This was subsequently treated with surgical therapy and chemoradiotherapy.